In the end, however, he couldn’t figure out how to access any information to tell him, one way or the other. He was only a lowly beat cop and simply did not have the ability to find out who had had access to Ilithyia I, or what medications she had been given, or even what had been in her food and drink.
Those should have been closely guarded, he realized, but if somebody really high up is doing this, they might be able to sneak it in. But I’m not gonna find it. Only an inspector could…and at this point, he frowned to himself, there’s not a one of the damn bastards that I would ever trust to even hint to, about this. Maybe Captain Carter. I dunno.
So he filed it away in the back of his mind, in case he ever did get the chance, and turned back to his quiet little investigations of the two assassinations about which he did know a few things.
Ashton only became more and more convinced that Josip Bronsky, upon his arrival on Sintar, had ditched con artistry and found someone to teach him a thing or two about assassination, though he had no idea who, or where, or even how. But while all of the trends pointed that way, by the time the various “investigators” – excuse for investigators, in his considered opinion – were done with the crime scenes, there was no evidence left with which he could work.
He sighed and put both cases away.
One of these days, he thought. Maybe one of these days, I can properly close a case. Maybe I can close this case.
Round Two
It had been just over a year since the incident with Stash and Inspector Thomas, and coming up on a year since the death of Empress Ilithyia I, and other than the odd pickpocket or domestic dispute, Ashton’s shifts had been relatively quiet. His roommate Stone had – finally – recently managed to transfer to his homeworld, and Ashton had spent most of his off hours for the last week getting ready to move to a new apartment, though he hadn’t filed the information with the department yet.
By this point, he was basically a beat cop, having left his rookie status behind at his annum anniversary with the department, some months prior – though he hadn’t been moved into the investigatory division like he’d hoped. Other than the official change of status in his records, there had been no other recognition of the day…somewhat to his disappointment. He was supposed to be an assistant to Inspector Thomas according to all the paperwork, but Ashton had gotten no requests to attend Thomas for a case since that one incident, nearly a year prior. Which, he decided, wasn’t surprising at all. I don’t want to work with a dirty detective any more than that detective wants to work with a straight cop. But I do still want to be a detective, dammit! Now, if I could just figure out how to go about requesting assignment to a different investigator without getting Gorecki on my case, I might get someplace. Maybe I’ll go by and feel the Captain out about it, at the end of my shift.
Meanwhile, he tried to concentrate on doing a good job as a beat cop, and developing a social life. He dated a good bit, mostly outside the force, but never managed to find a woman that seemed to “click” for him.
Until one morning when another cop, passing by in the break room as he stood up from fetching the coffee from the under-counter cabinet, pinched his ass, then turned and grinned.
Officer Tabitha “Tabby” Koch was a tanned honey-blonde, around half a foot shorter than Ashton’s six feet, with big blue-green eyes and pearly white teeth that showed when she grinned. And that grin was making it plain that she thought Ashton was cute, if not downright sexy. And in turn, it made her downright sexy.
Ashton was instantly smitten.
“Hey, big guy,” she said, continuing to grin. “Sorry about that. I never could resist a tight, round ass.”
“Hey yourself,” he responded, matching her grin. “I’m just glad you think it’s tight and round.”
“Oh, definitely. I thought I was gonna dislocate a knuckle when I tried to pinch it.”
“I was doing a reverse squat, after all.”
“True, true! I’m Tabby Koch. Pleased to meet you.”
“I’m Nick Ashton. Likewise.”
“There’s an empty table in the corner, and it’s fifteen until the morning brief. Wanna join?”
“Sure.”
He promptly ascertained that her beat was in the arcade next to his, then invited her to join him for coffee at a convenient café during their next break.
She accepted.
They laughed and talked and were almost late going back on duty… but not before they’d arranged to go out to dinner that night, once they got off work.
Thus began an intense relationship that lasted several months…
…Until Nick discovered that Tabby was General William Kershaw’s niece.
“Holy shit, Nick, I can’t believe you didn’t know that!” Peter Stone, who would be leaving for a slot on his homeworld in just a few days, told Ashton one night after a particularly hot date. “And he dotes on her! She’s the daughter of his favorite sister, and word has it, he was the father figure after her dad got killed on Wollaston! I was wondering why the hell you were dating Kershaw’s niece, given everything you’ve said about your personal ethics!”
“Aw, damn,” Ashton said, perturbed. “Well, at least she doesn’t take after him.”
“Buddy, I hate to tell you,” Stone said, solemn, “she most certainly does.”
“No,” Ashton averred, deeply disturbed by the accusation. “I don’t believe you.”
Stone shrugged.
“You’re the one wants to be a detective. Find out for yourself. Just do it before you get in over your head.”
So on his next day off,
